Young Gun: Theo Brophy-Clews – London Irish fly-half

Theo Brophy-Clews has become a school sensation over the past two seasons and he is now looking to make his mark at senior level with London Irish.
Under the tutelage of David Wicks and Peter Coke at Abingdon School, the 18-year-old captained his side in the Daily Mail Trophy before impressing with England U18s during the Six Nations, FIRA tournament and tour to South Africa last month.
He also entered the Exiles’ record book, scoring on debut against the Scarlets in January in the LV=Cup to become the club’s youngest try-scorer.
“It was brilliant to score against the Scarlets even if I got a bit of stick for not running in under the posts with no defender in sight,” he told The Rugby Paper. “It was great to be involved in the first team and it made me want more.
“Touring South Africa this summer was awesome. It was really tough and consistency cost us, especially in the last game but we all learned valuable lessons.
“I’ll be on loan with Henley in National One which should give me more game time. It worked well for Conor Murphy last season so I hope it will for me.
“It’ll be good for me to play men’s rugby regularly to bridge the gap from school rugby as quickly as possible.
“Getting some game time could help me state my case for the A-League as well as with England U20s. I’ll be a year young but I hope I can get involved.
Despite Andy Goode’s retirement this week, Brophy-Clews still faces a tough challenge for the Exiles’ No.10 shirt with Shane Geraghty, Chris Noakes and Christian Lewis-Pratt also vying for the spot.
But it won’t be the first time, Brophy-Clews is pushed hard for his place as he had to compete with Gloucester and Hartpury College flyer Mat Protheroe for his England U18s spot.
He added: “Competing with Mat was great for me. I’ve always liked to control the game with my passing or kicking but I’m looking to improve my running game to be more of a threat myself.
“Mat’s a great player and I’ve learnt a lot from him. He can do amazing things ball in hand. We actually ended up playing together with him at full-back and me at No.10 so we had a working relationship rather than competing against each other.
“Andy (Goode) has helped me a lot this summer, too, giving me advice in training while he was recovering from his surgery.
“I had a couple of weeks off after finishing school which was nice because it’s been pretty full on after that between pre-season and the South Africa tour. It’s been tough on the body but I can’t wait to get going now and play some games.”